June Goals Update

Goal: Make a start on my Cross Stitch of season 9 Drag Race queen, Sasha Velour.Complete?: Yes! And I’ll show it off when it’s done. The hardest part was getting the hang of the cross stitch software, WinStitch, not that it’s difficult. It’s just different to the other creative programs I use. Plus, the colours on my PC monitor are inaccurate so there was some guess work involved. But the first few stitches are down!

Goal: Escape to the country.Complete?: Not yet. I was hoping to pop up to Yorkshire but never got around to it. A country trip is on the cards for July though.

Goal: Lose some weight.Complete?: Yes! O-M-G, I surprised myself with this one. I’ve started logging my calorie intake on My Fitness Pal again and weighing everything I eat. At first it felt as tedious as it sounds, but it soon became habit and only took me a few extra minutes of meal preparation. I don’t own weighing scales at home, so I popped to Boots and weighed myself there, and HOLY SHIT ON A STICK! I’d dropped 16lb’s. I’ve been on the verge of diabetes for a few months so fingers crossed it’s not too late to reverse it.

Goal: Join a modern choir.Complete?: No, but the search for a local choir led me down a rabbit hole of other local activities and I ended up joining a craft group instead. Doing the research has opened the city up to me so I’ll be checking out more groups and classes soon.

Goal: Finish reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.Completed?: Almost. Last month I was finding the info in the book kinda depressing, but as I read on there were moments that made me appreciate humanity and our accomplishments as a species more than I ever have before. So why didn’t I finish Sapiens if it was such a good read? Blame the Amazon Kindle 30 day free trial I started at the beginning of June. I went on a rampage downloading a ton of ebooks! So I did manage to finish some reads in June. Just not Sapiens…

Goal: Relaunch my Etsy store.Completed?: Yes! Cosmic Kick on Etsy is now open. If you’re looking for fun and unique cross stitch patterns keep an eye on the store in the next few weeks and months. I’ll be uploading hundreds of charts for download!

Goal: Increase followers on Pinterest.Completed?: Yes! I did a crazy amount of Pinterest research during June and learned so much (follow my blog marketing board here for daily tips and inspo) and gained 100 new followers (hi guys 🙋). The one thing that popped up over and over in these articles was that follower count no longer matters on Pinterest, compared to other platforms. The Pinterest algorithm cares more about engagement than followers. So, with that in mind I got to work on joining Pinterest groups and following like-minded bloggers and creatives in the hopes of boosting engagement. I’ve also been affiliating some pins to see how that works out and I actually earned some money. Wait for it… a whole £0.34p! Move over Pat Flynn. There’s a new marketer in town! Most importantly though, my reach on the platform jumped from around 6000 viewers in May to almost 40,000 in June. Here’s to 400,000 in July (although with this heat I’m not holding my breath. Good weather = less engagement 😭 ).

So that was June. I’m so proud of what I achieved this month and it’s given me the motivation to keep growing. When it’s done properly, planning and goal setting is life changing! I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to my July Life Goals.

July Life Goals 2018

Goals: Go camping.Why?: Every year I promise myself I’ll buy a tent and go camping, and every year the summer whizzes by and I miss the chance.How?: Find a dirt cheap, decent quality tent by creating alerts for low priced tents on eBay and Gumtree. Check Vipon every day for Amazon coupons.

Goal: Get a haircut.Why?: So, as regulars will know I’m in the process of overcoming anxiety that’s crippled some areas of my life. Getting haircuts are one of the most commonly avoided tasks among those with this type of anxiety. I’ve been cutting my hair myself for around 2+ years and it worked for a while. But guys; it’s time. My hair is so flat and sad looking. This thin mop needs some professional TLC!How? Practice the ACT and CBT methods laid out in the book, Overcome Social Anxiety and Shyness. Make an appointment for a quiet day and smash it!

Goal: Read another book… to the end.Why?: I have a habit of starting but never finishing books, but my to-read list is getting stupidly long. Time to shorten it.How?: Go through my list. See which books are available at the local library or on offer. Read that bitch!

Goal: Take good quality photos.Why?: My Instagram has been dead lately and I hardly ever pull my camera out. Plus I need more stock images for the blog.How?: Read some well written blog posts on the subject, practice and snap away!

Goal: Post at least twice a week.Why?: I have so many awesome draft posts lined up just waiting to be freed out in to the interwebz!How?: Develop a strategy for writing posts more quickly. Write for an hour daily.

Goal: Paint for an hour a day.Why?: To develop skill and creativity.How?: Don’t overthink it. Just put brush to paper and paint. If I’m truly stumped for ideas, I’ll use Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration.

Goal: Work out 3 times a week.Why?: Prevention really. I want to build strength. I’m always reading about studies that show how people with more muscle mass are less prone to neurological disorders like Alzheimers.How?: I’ve saved a workout to my desktop. I’m going to do it 3 times a week to start and increase my efforts in August.

Congrats if you managed to make it all the way to the end of this post. It’s a long one! Writing monthly goals is so motivating though so I had to tell you about it. So now you tell me; what goals are you setting for July? Let me know below 🌟